The space exploration sector finds itself in winds of change! New geopolitical power shifts, macroeconomic uncertainty, technological advancements, and demographic changes are fundamentally altering the way space exploration is perceived, embedded, and developed, as well as the part that space exploration, and space at large, play in our daily lives.
This report serves to introduce you to thinking about possible futures and provides a backdrop for contextualising European space exploration between 2040 and 2060, building upon the ESPI 2040 Policy Vision for Europe in Space. In other words, we will catapult ourselves into 2040 as the start of our journey and explore different potential directions the world and the space sector might develop towards 2060.
This report is the result of a collaboration between The European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) and the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies.